Back-rest and back-gage or welt-guide mechanism.



A. EPPLER.

BACK REST AND BACK GAGE 0R WELT GUIDE MECHANISM.

APPLlCATION FILED MAR. 11, I912.

Patented June 8, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Wifilci'dd.

Jmmsmiar w M am a A. EPPLER. BACK REST AND BACK GAGE 0R WELT GUIDEMECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR'. 11, 1912.

5 1 9 l on 6 n H J 0 6 t n m a D1 L T E E H 4 S T E E H S 3 A. EPPLER.

BACK REST AND BACK GAGE 0R WELT GUIDE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. H. 1912. 1,142,157. Patented June 8,1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW EPPLER, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED SHOE MACHINERYCOMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BACK-BEST AND BACK-GAGE 0R WELT-GUIDE MECHANISM.

Patented June 8, 1915.

Original application filed August 8, 1908, Serial No. 447,542. Dividedand this application filed March 11, 1912. Serial No. 683,087.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW EPPLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain Improvements in Back-Rest and Back-Gage orWelt-Guide Mechanisms, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a ecification, like referencecharacters on the rawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

The present invention relates to welt shoe sewing machines and moreparticularly to im rovements in back rest and back gage or we t guidemechanisms for such machines.

An object of the invention is to produce an improved mechanism foryieldingly supporting the back rest slide which is lighter and quickeracting than the construction heretofore employed and in which the forceby which the slide is supported may be readily adjusted but which isunchanged by the movement of the back rest.

A further object of the invention is to produce an improved mechanismfor locking the back rest and welt guide slides in their forwardpositions which is strong and durable and which acts with certainty tolock the slides precisely in the positions to which the are moved.

till another object of the invention is to produce an improved mechanismfor actuating the welt guide slide by which the welt guide can beretracted accurately and with certainty to the desired extent duringeach cycle of operations of the machine.

With the above objects in view further features of the invention consistof certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of parts, theadvantages of which will be obvious to one skilled in the art from thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention in the best format present known to the inventor, Figure 1 is a view in front elevationof a portion of a welt sewing machine embodying the invention; Fig. 2 isa view in side elevation of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3is a view in side elevation of the machine looking from the left; Fig. 4is a detail sectional plan view illustrating particularly the back restslide and its actuating arm Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating in sideelevation the mechanism for retractin the Welt guide slide and alsoillustrating in dotted lines the clutch mr chanism for locking both thewelt guide slide and the back rest slide; 6,

lie

is a detail sectional view taken on the 6 6 of Fig. 5; and Fi 7 is adetail sectional view taken on the fine 77 of Fig. 5.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is provided with a curved hookneedle, a needle ide, a loo er, a thread arm, a takeup, a c annel gui awelt guide, a back rest, back rest and welt guide slides, and a tensiondevice, all having the same construction, arrangement and mode ofoperation as the corres ondin parts of the welt sewing machine disclosein the applicants pending appl1cat1on, Ser. No. 447,542, filed Aug. 8, 1)0 8, of which the present application is a division. For a full andcomplete description of the parts not fully described herein, referencemay be had to said application.

The welt guide in the machine illustrated in the drawings is indicatedat 1. In order that the groove of the welt may be brought into the pathof the needle regardles of the thickness of the .material being operatedupon, the welt guide is mounted so that it moves toward and from theshoe in a path of greater radius than that of the needle but in a pathwhich is substantially tangent to that of the needle at the oint wherethe welt guide engages the W0 In the construction illustrated in thedrawings this result is secured by mounting the welt ide upon the weltguide carryin arm 2 an pivoting this arm in front 0 and above the needlesubstantially diametrically opposite the point at which the welt guideengages the work. By so mounting the welt guide, it moves toward andfrom the work in a path of greater radius than that of the needle, sothat it engages the lasting tacks laterally and bends t em over, insteadof resting upon the heads of the tee When in close proximity to theshoe, however, the welt guide is movin in substantially the same path asthe nee 1e, so that the groove in the welt is not displaced to anyappreciable extent by variations in the thickness of the materialoperated upon. The welt guide is moved toward and from the shoe at theproper times during the operation of the machme lfi means of a link 3, awelt guide slide 4 whi is connected with the welt guide carrying arm 2by the link 3, a spring which acts to force the welt guide slideforward, and a cam actuated clutch mechanism which retracts the slide.The spring for forcing the welt guide slide forward is indicated at 5.This s ring is coiled around a stud 6 provided wit an adjustable capdisk 7 to, which one end of the spring is secured. The other end of thespring extends upwardly and bears against a pin 8 projecting from thewelt guide slide. The cam actuated clutch mechanism for retracting theslide comprises a clutch box 9 surrounding the slide, and provided withinclines between which and the edges of the slide, clutch rolls 10 arelocated. Golled springs 11 seated in recesses in the clutch box act uponthe rolls and tend to hold them in clutching position against theinclines and the adjacent sides of the slide. The inclines on the clutchboxare so arran ed that durin the rearward movement of t e clutch box te slide is gripped by the clutch rolls and the slide is retracted. Foractuating the clutch box a cam actuated lever 12 is rovided, the lowerend of which is connected with the clutch box by a link 13. Topositively release the welt guide slide from the clutch rolls 10 duringthe forward movement of the clutch box, and preferably before the weltguide contacts with the shoe, stationary pins 14 are provided whichenter holes in the clutch box as it reaches the limit of its forwardmovement, and positively force the clutch rolls 10 backwardly againstthe tension of the springs 11.

It is customary in welt shoe sewing machines to provide means foradjusting the welt guide on its carrier toward and from the path of theneedle,

so as to bring the groovesof different styles of welt into properposition. To secure this result, the welt guide of the machineillustrated in the drawings is secured to its carrying arm by means of apivot pin 15 passing through a slot in the arm, and by a stud 16 passingthrough the arm and provided with an eccentric portion engaging the weltguide.

The back rest of the machine illustrated in the drawings is indicated at17, and the back rest slide at 18, these parts being constructed andarranged as in prior machines. An improved mechanism for yieldinglysupporting the back rest slide is, however, provided, which mechanism ismuch lighter and quicker acting than the construction commonly used,which comprises a rack and pinion and a clock spring. Another advantageof this improved mechanism is that it permits the use of a spring whichcan be easily adjusted, and a spring of such length that the movement ofthe back rest does not 'appreciably change the tension of the spring.This mechanism for yieldingly supporting the back rest comprises ahorizontal arm 19, the free end of which enters a'slot in the back restand engages a roller 20 mounted therein, and the other end of which ispivotally mounted upon avertical pivot 21.

long coiled spring 22 surrounds the pivot 21, and is connected at itslower end to the arm 19, and at its upper end to a plate or disk 23secured to the upper end of the pivot, so as to be capable of adjustmentto vary the ten: sion of the spring. The disk 23 is secured in adjustedposition by a clamping screw 24 passing through the disk and screwinginto the pivot. The back rest is intermittently locked against backwardmovement by mechanism hereinafter described.

To lock the back rest slide 18 and the welt guide slide 4 in theirforward positions at the proper times during the operation of themachine, the machine illustrated in the drawings is provided with animproved mechanism which is strong and durable, and which acts withcertainty to lock the slides precisely in the positions to which theyare moved while the slides are unlocked. This mechanism comprises clutchrolls which are arranged to engage suitable friction surfaces on theslides, and which are supported by inclines on a member which is movablefrom a position in which the rolls are out of engagement with the slidesto a position in which the rolls are clutched between the slides and theinclines on the movable memher. These clutch rolls, together with theirsupporting member, constitute friction clutches which are extremelysensitive in operation, and which look the slides se curely in positionwithout liability of any lost motion or any derangement or breakage ofthe parts. The clutch rolls are indicated at 25 and 26, and are arrangedto engage respectively the lower and upper sides of the welt guide andback rest slides. The rolls are arranged in the same vertical plane andare fitted loosely in vertical slots in the frame of the machine. Thesupporting member for the rolls is in the form of a wedge indicated at27, one incline surface of the wedge engaging one roll and the otherincline surface engaging the other roll. The wedge 27 is pivotallyconnected at its rear end to the vertical arm of a bell crank lever 28,the horizontal arm of which is provided with a roll'engaging a cam onthe cam shaft; The bell crank lever is actuated by the cam to withdrawthe wedge to unlock the slides and the wedge is moved in a direction tolock the slides by means of a coiled spring 29 connected at one end tothe frame of the machine, and at the other end to the bell crank lever28.

The machine illustrated in the drawings, while adapted for welted work,can also be used for turned shoes, a suitable back gage of usualconstruction being substituted for the welt guide, as will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art. In such case, the

slide 4. will be a back gage slide instead of a welt guide slide, and infact the slide of welt sewing machines corresponding to the slide 4 ofthe machine illustrated in the drawings is often termed a back gageslide. Accordingly, in certain of the claims the term back gage slide isused to designate the slide 4.

The invention is not limited to the details of construction, arrangementand mode of operation of the illustrated embodiment but may be embodiedin other forms within the scope of the claims.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention and havingspecifically de scribed one form of the mechanism in which it may beembodied, what is claimed is:

1. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a Work restslide movable toward and from the shoe, a clutch roll for locking theslide against backward movement, a supporting member for the roll, andmeans for actuating said member to lock the slide against backwardmovement and unlock the slide.

2. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a work restslide movable toward and from the shoe provided with a longitudinalfriction surface, a clutch roll to engage said surface and lock theslide against backward movement, and mechanism cooperating with the rollto lock the slide against backward movement and unlock the slide.

3. {in inseam sewing machine having, in combination, a work rest slidemovable toward and'-.from the shoe provided with a longitudinal frictionsurface, a locking mechanism comprising a clutch roll engaglng saidsurface and locking the slide against backward movement, a nemberprovided with a surface engaging and supporting the roll inclined tosaid friction surface, and means for moving said member to release theroll and the slide intermittently in the operation of the sewingmachine.

4. An inseam sewing machine having, in combination, a back gage slide, aback rest slide, clutch rolls for locking the slides, supporting membersfor the rolls, and means for actuating said members to lock and unlockthe slides.

5. An inseam sewing machine having, in combination, a back gage slideand a back rest slide provided with" longitudinal friction surfaces,clutch rolls to engage said surfaces, and mechanism cooperating with therolls to lock and unlock said slides.

6. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch formingdevices,

a back rest, a back rest slide, an arm located in a horizontal planehaving one end in engagement with the slide and the other end mounted toturn about a vertical axis, and an actuating spring coiled around theaxis of the arm and acting on the arm'to impart forward movement to theslide.

7. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch formingdevices, a back rest slide, a back gage slide, a clutch roll for lockingeach slide, a wedge movable between the rolls, and means for actuatingthe wedge to lock and unlock the slides.

8. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch formingdevices including a curved hook needle, a back gage slide, and mechanismfor retracting said slide comprising a clutch box surrounding the slideand provided with roll-clutching inclines, clutch rolls mounted in thebox and arranged to be gripped between the inclines and the slide,mechanism for reciprocating the clutch box to retract the slide, aspring for advancing the slide, and fixed stops to engage the rollsduring the return movement of the clutch box.

9. An inseam shoe sewing machine having, in combination, a back gageslide and a back rest slide provided with longitudinal frictionsurfaces, friction clutch members to engage said surfaces, and a wedgemovable into a position between said clutch members to lock said slides.

10. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices, a back rest slide, a back gage slide, clutch members toengage and lock the slides, a wedge movable between the clutch membersto actuate said members to lock the slides, and means for actuating thewedge to lock and unlock the slides.

11. An inseam shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, stitchforming devices, a back rest slide, a back gage slide, clutch members toengage and lock the slides, a wedge movable between the clutch membersto actuate said members to lock the slides, and means for actuating thewedge including a cam for moving the wedge to unlock the slides and aspring for moving the wedge to lock the slides.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW EPPLER.

